


The Thing About Cats

by sugarsubstitute



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: And a sore loser, But he loves cats so, Crack, I can't believe I'm writing so much in such a short time this is amazing, I wrote this in a pretty short amount of time like my other fic, M/M, Poor kid is homesick, Rated because of a little bit of swearing, Yuri Plisetsky is bitter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 22:46:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8263162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarsubstitute/pseuds/sugarsubstitute
Summary: He was not lost, so quit saying he is, okay?Yuri finds himself wondering the streets, no real direction in mind, no real care in the world either. He wasn't ever going back, not after what they did to him. It's stupid, they're stupid. When a cat shows up, however, it makes him follow it in order to give him his answers.





	

Stupid, stupid, _stupid_. That’s what he told himself when a little worry slithered at his ear and questioned if they were lost. Yuri was not lost. He was _not_ , he empathised with a kick to an empty coke can which sent it bounding off the brick wall. While he past it, it wondered if he had seen that very coke can before, and if so then maybe he’d already gone down this alleyway. He hadn’t though, he then reprimanded, as if he had done so then he wouldn’t be aware of where he was going; and he knew where he was going. He said he was going out, and he was out, so he wasn’t lost. 

The bitter chill of winter nipped his nose, and as he wiped at it with the back of his hand he wished that he had brought some kind of jacket or a scarf or something warm before he barged out and left. Whatever, what was done was done: he had left and he wasn’t going back. Not ever.

He had turned his phone off, to silence the buzz of notifications for when they texted or called him – he didn’t need their pleas. What they had done to him was unforgivable, a true betrayal of what little trust he had for them, and so he decided he didn’t want to waste his energy reading or listening to anything they had to say. It was stupid, _they_ were stupid. Idiots, he thought as he kicked another can.

 

The walls of where ever he was walking were covered in scribbles in different chalks, paints, spray paints, maybe blood? Yuri knew limited kanji, as the only ones he had memorised perfectly were ones to do with skating like ‘toe-jump’, ‘quadruple lutz’ and other tricks like that, so he had no idea if whatever it was on there were actual words or if it was like the aimless nonsense that was plastered everywhere at home.

Home… maybe he should have just gone back to Russia, where he understood everything, where he could speak whenever he wanted to without needing to translate; and he could speak personally to his family without needing to talk via Skype, every second filled with some kind of talk of either ‘ _when are you going to send us money next _’ or ‘ _when are you going to send my cat plushies over_ ’ instead of the comfortable silence he had with them at home. His cat was there too, it used to snuggle up to him in his bed, and sit on his keyboard or sniff at his skates. Just thinking of that was enough to tempt him to walk his way to the airport right that minute. Only, he wasn’t exactly sure where it was. __

__He had a tendency to walk with no real direction in mind when he grew angry. So as he had begun to think about his life back in Russia he must have started to do as when he looked up to see where he was now surrounded by trees, birds tweeting up in nests and the morning’s dog walkers trotting back from their route._ _

__Yuri bit his lip. He didn’t know where this was._ _

__

__He sat on a bench, wriggling his toes in his favourite red leopard-print shoes. He refused to let himself think he was lost because if he was lost he’d need help to get back to wherever he was, or wanted to go to; and he didn’t want any. He listed the pros and cons of just staying here and letting himself rot on that cold, wooden bench. It was comfortable enough, although freezing as he still didn’t have anything to keep him warm. Still, he’d rather have his lips turn blue and his fingers drop off than stoop so low as to ask for directions or text one of the others to come and find him._ _

__He flopped down on his side on the bench before curling his toes inward and curling his knees up to his chest. This sucked._ _

__

__Something nudged at his nose, which woke him up. He groaned tiredly and let his eyes flutter open only to see another wide pair of eyes staring at him. He jerked, head hitting against the bench. Ouch. He rubbed the sore part of his head and looked down at who was creepy enough to loom over him while he napped._ _

__It was small, and furry. Long white fur grew out of its cheeks and all over the rest of its body, in patches of white and grey. Its ears twitched in what Yuri could assume was greetings. Its paw nudged his nose and it then flicked its tail._ _

__Yuri’s eyes widened. A cat._ _

__“Hello.” Yuri greeted, holding his fingers out. It leaned into them, rubbing its head against them. “It’s cold out today, shouldn’t you be inside?”_ _

__Yuri moved on to stroke its fur, eyes flicking over it to try and find a collar of some sort. Nothing. “You’re alone too, huh?” he cooed quietly. It looked up at him with its great green eyes._ _

__

__The thing with cats was that you could tell them absolutely anything and they would just contently sit there and not react. He respected that, as people seemed to listen sometimes but when they listened they usually just reacted badly; or at least they did in his case. Cats were good listeners, as in they didn’t reply or butt in or say he was wrong. While sometimes he did like people to argue with him just so he could knock them down a peg it was tiring and he’d much prefer someone like a cat to talk to._ _

__That’s why as he petted the cat’s pure fur Yuri felt like he could say to that stray: “I think I’m lost.”_ _

__

__The cat blinked its eyes at that, rubbed against his fingers again before stretching and jumping down from the bench._ _

__“Where are you going?” Yuri pouted._ _

__The cat walked a bit before sitting down, curling its tail around its legs and looking up to Yuri._ _

__Yuri stared at the cat for a while before letting himself down from the bench and plodded his way over to it. When he reached the cat, it lifted itself up again and began to walk._ _

__Yuri shrugged. “Guess I’ll follow you then.”_ _

__

__They walked for a while, Yuri eventually catching up so that they walked side-by-side. The little cat must have been local, as it seemed to anticipate every turn of every corner, every cycler, and even every dog, making Yuri walk on the outside so that the cat and each dog walking past avoided contact. The cat was smart, or perhaps it really didn’t know where it was going and was just ambling around wherever just like he was earlier._ _

__He was putting all his trust in it (or perhaps he just had nothing better to do than follow it around) so he could only hope it was taking him somewhere instead of expecting him to wander around with no goal in mind._ _

__

__Soon enough, it stopped and looked up at him. Wherever they were now, this is where the cat wanted them to be. Yuri looked up._ _

__Children squealed and parents wobbled, the sounds of blades scarring the ice and bodies falling down on it. Singles, couples, small groups, all skating (and falling) together on the ice._ _

__“An outdoor ice rink?” He asked the cat, and in reply it sauntered over to the fence build around the rink and sat itself down on it. So the cat came here to watch skaters? That’s boring. He looked out to all the pathetic girlfriend-boyfriends clinging to each other as they slipped and slid down on the ice, laughing as they went, acting as if failing was fun._ _

__Stupid, really. He felt sorry for that cat, really, being so alone and bored all the time it resorted to watching people fall and cry all day? Well, come to think of it, he watched that sort of thing all the time on reality TV at home, so he could see where he came from with that. Perhaps, though, it was time for that cat to see some real skating._ _

__

__“You sure you don’t want the kids’ ones? We have ‘em in your size” the man teased, while he scoured the shelves for the adult skates in Yuri’s size._ _

__“No, thanks, old man.” Yuri replied with a scowl. He got this every time he went to a rink where he was unknown. ‘ _Where’re your parents?_ ’, ‘ _aren’t you a little young to come here by yourself?_ ’ were the kinds of questions that only came when he was in a different country, as most people knew him in Russia (which was either good or very bad). He didn’t even think he looked that childish, yes he was a little short and he was rather slender but still he was fifteen-years-old and he was going in the senior division anyway, so that lot and this asshole could suck it. He snatched his skates from the man’s hands, maintaining his scowl, and stomping off to let him know he was annoyed._ _

__“Don’t slip and fall now, _little boy_!” The man called out. Yuri froze. He twitched._ _

__He tightened his laces, muttering all the Russian curse words he knew under his breath, knowing that the little girl in the tutu next to him wouldn’t understand what he was going on about as she kicked her little feet in her skates while waiting for her father next to her to finish tying his own._ _

__

__Before he stepped onto the ice, he looked over to see that the cat was still watching from the exact same place he was before. Their eyes met, and it curled its tail._ _

__Yuri began by lightly, casually drifting his way across the ice. It was better to get used to the ice and for the ice to get used to him before he started jumping around like crazy._ _

__The center was void of life, so no one would be in his way when he started performing to his feline audience._ _

__He passed people who nudged along the ice slowly; leaving them blankly staring at him as he so effortlessly left them behind. He clearly wasn’t doing this for fun, they must have thought. Even when he skated casually, he was still so much better than them._ _

__When Yuri felt like he was ready, he slowly began to move into the center._ _

__

__It wasn’t as easy to perform in front of an audience without music, especially when the background sound was of screaming children and laughing adults. Still, he didn’t let it faze him. Instead, he stood in the center, feet positioned and face cast into the sky, watching dark clouds gather above._ _

__He breathed out, watching the plumes of his breath rise out of his mouth._ _

__He skated around inner circuit of the rink, leaving lots of space for other skaters, assured that he would not run anyone over. He sped up, listening closely to the well-known sound of his skates grazing the surface of the ice. He suddenly turned around, having become familiar with the overall shape of the rink, and skated backwards. He sped up even further, preparing himself for his first crowd-pleaser._ _

__He closed his eyes. He was in Russia, skating in the local ice-rink, his grandpa watching him as well as those who always came to watch the Russian Fairy skate._ _

__He jumped into a simple single-axel, and as always it was landed perfectly. When he was younger he would effortlessly perform them to anyone who was watching just to keep their eyes on him and distracted from anything else. He imagined his sister clapping as she always did, the remaining people on the rink stopping to look at him and the people in the stands knowing that the show was about to begin. Everyone’s attention was drawn to him._ _

__He then decided to tease the audience for a little, doing simple turns and poses, because he knew they were waiting for something bigger. Then he suddenly turned and jumped into a double-loop jump followed by a single-axel, which the crowd knew was the start of his sequence of tricks._ _

__Before they knew it, he was leaping across the ice, jumping into axels, lutzes and landing them all perfectly. He was the Russian Fairy, he was graceful and he was perfect, and the only one in the rink who knew what they were doing. His grandpa's eyes widened with every spin, every turn, every move he made. The crowd found that they were constantly cheering him as he was constantly doing something amazing._ _

__When he would reach the finale of his performance, he would circle around the center like his prey, spiraling closer and closer until he suddenly sped into the very, very middle and finished with a combination spin, staying perfectly centered and perfectly steady. He then stood still, casting his head up to the beaming lights of the rink. The cheers erupted._ _

__When he opened his eyes, though, he saw dark clouds._ _

__

__He looked around to see all the families, singles and couples standing on the edges of the rink, whooping and clapping. The little girl in a tutu’s eyes sparkled and gleamed as she stood by her father’s side._ _

__Right, he was still here._ _

__

__He looked to the cat, who licked its paw. What did it think? What did it want? Why did it bring him here? To this run down, stupid, _pathetic_ Japanese ice rink. It wasn’t filled with lights or clean ice or anyone he knew, it wasn’t anywhere._ _

__He breathed out, his breath clouding the air._ _

__His cheeks felt warm, which made a stark difference to the bitter chill he felt everywhere else on his body. He brought his fingers to his face._ _

__Warm liquid trailed down his porcelain skin, and his eyes widened. Tears gathered and fell from his eyes._ _

__He wasn’t in Russia. He wasn’t home. That’s why._ _

__

__He skidded off the ice, wanting the cheers of those on the rink to shut up. He sat on the ground, tearing off his skates and jamming his feet into his shoes. He didn’t bother tying the laces together before handing them back in, instead throwing them at the man before darting off, as far away from that bastard ice rink as possible._ _

__

__He sat down on the bench, rubbing his face. _Stupid_ , _stupid_ , _stupid_ , he told himself. He was lost. Lost in a whole other country. Far away from home, from his family, his cat. He shivered, tucking his hands into his pockets as the only source of warmth he had. He weighed out the cons and the cons of dying here in this stupid country. He wasn’t _home_. _ _

__Purring cut through his thoughts as the cat rubbed itself against Yuri’s legs._ _

__Yuri stared down at it. “Why did you do that?”_ _

__The cat meowed before it leapt on the bench and stood with its back arched upwards next to Yuri. He pouted. While cats were brilliant listeners, they didn’t provide many concrete answers._ _

__“Why did you take me to that place?”_ _

__The cat whished its tail._ _

__“What do you want me to say?”_ _

__The cat stared at him._ _

__“What? I miss home, is that was you wanted me to realise?” Yuri questioned. “That I miss everything about where I came from? I already knew that, so what was the point!?” Yuri growled._ _

__The cat stepped onto his lap, swishing its tail in his face before curling into it._ _

__Yuri sighed, taking to lightly stroke the cat’s back. “I… I left to bring Victor home, back to Russia. He stayed, so I stayed too. He would continue to be my coach, so that I could win like I always do. What made me do that, and leave my family behind?”_ _

__The cat yawned. His cat always yawned like that, always making eye contact which either made Yuri think he was being boring or that he needed to stop talking so that he could sleep peacefully._ _

__“Did _you_ do that?” Yuri asked quietly. No reaction. “… I don’t want to be by myself. At home I had so many supporters that I didn’t even need to be nice to them, and that’s what I liked. They still reacted to me when I called them stupid or incompetent, but they still cheered me on. These people don’t know me. I only have Victor, and I need him; or else everyone else will leave me. At least, even if I’m stuck here… I have someone who will watch me.” He continued, before scrunching his nose up. “Or _had_.” He grumbled. _ _

__The cat meowed, calling Yuri’s attention. Yuri lifted his hand, and the cat butted its head into it._ _

__“I want to go home, but…” Yuri paused. “What’s the point of going home with nothing to say for it? I haven’t learnt anything, I haven’t _won_.” _ _

__The cat looked at him._ _

__“I can’t go home. Not until I win, until I can laugh in the face of Victor and that Japanese Yuuri.” He affirmed._ _

__The cat stayed still for a moment and then nudged his nose with its paw. Yuri looked at the cat, looking into big green eyes. They slowly blinked._ _

__Yuri nodded in return. He understood._ _

__

__Yuri burst through the door of the onsen, a ball of white and grey fluff curled in his arms. He stormed into the main seating area, where Victor and the Japanese Yuuri sat; still playing the Monopoly game that had begun that morning._ _

__“Ah, Plisetsky-san, you're back!” Yuuri said as he felt Yuri’s frightening aura._ _

__“You’re pale as snow; you should’ve put on a coat.” Victor observed, eyeing the fifteen-year-old up and down before laying eyes on slit eyes of a fur ball. “A cat?”_ _

__“It’s _my_ cat, its name is Sosul'ka and I’m keeping it forever – but that’s not important right now.” Yuri waved off before pointing down at the playing board. “I’ve come back to win, and I’m not gonna lose ever again!”_ _

__Yuuri shakily raised his hand. “B-but… you went bankrupt this morning, remember? You landed on Victor’s ‘Mayfair’ six times--”_ _

__Yuuri squealed as the board was kicked, scattering the money, the properties and the little metal figurines around; in a similar to how he had done a few hours prior with his own money, properties (being one station and Old Kent Road) and little race car figure he demanded to have._ _

__

__“Looks like we’ll have to start again.” Yuri examined, taking his place in front of the upturned board with crossed legs, stroking his purring cat that laid on his lap from his head and down its back. Yuuri and Victor sighed, gathering the pieces in preparation of starting the whole process over again._ _

__Yuri smirked to himself, he would _never_ lose again._ _

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe it, I've never been able to write so much. Yuri is doing something, I swear. I think the next episode is out tomorrow, so we'll finally get to see Yuri's point of view! I think I like yesterday's fic better, but now that this is 'done' I'd rather get it out right away than just let it sit around. Once again, I didn't really proof read, so if anyone can find anything that looks a bit weird, doesn't make sense or perhaps find any grammatical or punctuation mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them!
> 
> I hope to write more, if this creative streak keeps up, if I'm still happy with my works so far. Hope you enjoyed! :)


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